Wednesday, Dec 18, 2002
Wednesday, Dec 18, 2002 |
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Cricket
When we picked the team for the 1983 World Cup, yours truly was one of the selectors, and we put emphasis on players who could contribute in all three departments — batting, bowling and fielding. The focus was on picking versatile players. To be honest, we never thought the team would return with the Cup but then it was to become a glorious chapter in the history of the game. We kept faith with the youth then. It should not be any different now. Youth is the key and that is the reason why I have not picked Javagal Srinath in my 15 for the World Cup. The exuberance in the team should be infectious and should be very visible. We need young, enthusiastic players. With that will come the commitment factor. Can you just rely on experience? My argument is that such experienced players might be only playing for their survival and in the process the team's interests are harmed. We need daredevil players, like Kapil Dev was; like some of the players from Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa are. There is no looking back once you step on to the field and we need players with complete commitment and total fitness. There should not be any compromise on this issue. This Indian team can win the Cup and to do that it has to believe in itself. The team management has to concentrate on how to bring in this "shall win'' phase. In my opinion, the most important area is the bowling department. The bowlers will have their task cut out but I would also like the batsmen to understand their roles and contribute in this department too. I would like to see Tendulkar, Sehwag, Ganguly, Kaif and Yuvraj share the responsibility of bowling more. They will have to get vital breakthroughs if the team has to do well. To win the Cup, India will have to bowl well and here I would put the responsibility on all those who can contribute with the bat and the ball. The batsmen can take on the job because there is no pressure on them to play for their places. Men like Zaheer, Nehra, Harbhajan and Kumble should concentrate on bowling to take wickets and not worry about scoring runs. They should take a leaf out of Glenn McGrath's career. He does job of taking wickets exceptionally well by bowling wicket to wicket, giving the batsmen little room. Srinath has served the team well but he looks short of that extra bit to dominate. I like V. V. S. Laxman too but then he takes time to settle and that is the reason why I have picked Gautam Gambhir in his place. Gambhir has everything that it takes to excel on the big stage. My specialist wicketkeeper is Vijay Dahiya. He is a brilliant batsman and is temperamentally suited to take on pressure. And he is a specialist wicketkeeper, like Syed Kirmani was in the 1983 team. Rahul Dravid will have to vie for a place with Mohammad Kaif. My team will have four seamers — _Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Rakesh Patel and Avishkar Salvi. I have picked Salvi because he has the potential to make an impact with his pace and Patel because he is a wicket-taking bowler. I have included three spinners — Kumble, Kartik and Harbhajan — because our strength is spin. My 15 for the World Cup: Sourav Ganguly (Captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Vijay Dahiya (w-k), Harbhajan Singh, Rakesh Patel, Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble, Ashish Nehra, Avishkar Salvi and Murali Kartik.
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